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Kratos
Kratos is the main protagonist of the God of War series. Early Life Born and raised in Sparta, Kratos was monitored, like all other younglings. During several tests, those that were deemed fit were to stay in Sparta to be trained as Spartan protectors, while those deemed unfit would be sent to the mountains, sealing their fates. Kratos, already feisty and aggressive at his young age, along with his brother, Deimos, trained, and dreamed of joining the Spartan army when they grow up. On an ill-fated day, when the young brothers were training outside their home, the city was raided by the Olympian gods, Ares and Athena, and their army of centaurs, in search of the Marked Warrior. Ares, seeing Deimos' birthmark as a sign of the prophecy, then snatched him away. In anger and desperation, Kratos attacked the god to save his brother, only for Ares to smack Kratos back in to a pile of wood, leaving him with a scar over his right eye. Insulted by the mortal's defiance, Ares raised his sword to kill Kratos, but was stopped by Athena reminding him that they had what they were looking for. Before leaving, Athena apologized to Kratos, and disappeared into flames. The loss of his brother left an indelible mark on Kratos, as he vowed to never falter again. In honor of his brother, Kratos had himself tattooed in the exact image of Deimos' birthmark. As he grew into adulthood, Kratos became a respected member of the Spartan army. He also married Lysandra, who bore him a daughter, Calliope. Quest for the Ambrosia Calliope, however, was the victim of a plague and was deemed weak, and according to Spartan law, she would be thrown into a chasm and left to die. Kratos then heard from an elder the capabilities of the healing elixir known as Ambrosia. Determined to save his daughter, Kratos set out on a journey for the Ambrosia, not knowing that Ares, God of War, had chosen him to be his champion in the wager of the Gods, a contest with the ultimate goal being the capture of the Ambrosia. He encountered a healer who gave him the Flames of Apollo in order to aid him in his quest. Over the course of his journey, an army of Spartans joined him, along with Captain Nikos. He encountered Herodius, Poseidon's champion, and killed him, with Herodius' army slain by the Spartans. After taking the ship, Poseidon, angered at Kratos for costing him the wager, unleashed a handful of hazards at sea, but failed. Later on, Kratos encountered Artemis' champion, Pothia, and killed her as well, her army also falling victim to the Spartans. In fear that Kratos would defeat his champion, Alrik, Hades sent a torrent of fire through the sky, but failed, instead killing many men in Kratos' army, including Nikos. Coming across the Ambrosia, he encountered Helios' Champion, who he killed as well. After retrieving the Ambrosia and returning to his Spartan army, Alrik and his Barbarian army battled the Spartans for the Ambrosia, as Alrik's Father was very ill, and in need of the elixir. After a grueling battle between the two leaders, Kratos successfully captured the Ambrosia (at the cost of his own men) and summoned an army of Rocs to continuously torture Alrik. Kratos then returned to Sparta, healed Calliope, and was promoted to the title of a Captain by the King of Sparta. Birth of the Ghost As a general, Kratos won battles through unorthodox, but effective tactics. However, his bloodlust and pride grew greater with every victory. Despite Lysandra's worries that he was acting more out of his own ego than his duty to Sparta, Kratos continued his bloody conquests, spending time with his family when he was able to return to Sparta. Kratos and his Spartan army finally met their match when they encountered the merciless Barbarian tribes from the east, led by Kratos' old enemy Alrik. Outnumbered and overpowered, the Spartans quickly found themselves on the losing end of the battle, with Kratos himself left at the mercy of the Barbarian King. In desperation, Kratos called out to Ares, the God of War, pledging his allegiance in exchange for victory. The God accepted, killing the Barbarians, and giving Kratos the Blades of Chaos as a sign of his servitude. For a time, Kratos served Ares loyally, raiding villages and spreading chaos in his name. However, during a raid on a village of Athena's followers, Ares tricked Kratos into killing his wife and child in a fit of blind rage. Ares justified his trickery as a means to sever Kratos' remaining attachments to the world of mortals, thereby making him into the perfect warrior. Stricken with horror and grief, Kratos left the bodies to be burned within the temple as he cursed Ares' name. The village oracle cursed Kratos, forcing him to forever wear the ashes of his dead family on his skin. From that day forward, Kratos was known as The Ghost of Sparta; his skin now 'pale as the moon' from the ashes that coated him. To other mortals, he was now marked by his white skin - the knowledge of his past actions repulsed them to the point where they would rather die than allow him to save their lives. He became known as the personification of cruelty and selfishness. Redemption and Vengeance For breaking his oath, Ares sent The Furies to capture Kratos and force him to once again serve the God of War. Kratos was trapped in an illusion of his home in Sparta, but the Fury Orkos appeared before him and encouraged him to see past the illusion, using Lysandra's necklace and ring as totems to discern reality from illusion. Though Kratos distrusted him, he followed Orkos' instruction to seek out Aletheia the Oracle at Delphi. The Oracle was captured by Pollux and Castor but Kratos killed them and took the Amulet of Uroborus. He travelled to the Harbor of Kirra where he encountered Orkos again. The oath keeper revealed that he is the son of Ares and Alecto. Orkos explained that Ares wanted a perfect warrior who could help him overthrow Zeus. Disappointed in Orkos, Ares disowned his son, and Orkos became the oath keeper of the Furies to please his mother. Kratos was the warrior Ares sought and for that reason, Ares helped Kratos against the barbarians. The murder of his family was meant to be one of three "tests" that would bind Kratos to Ares's will. Orkos did his bidding as the oath keeper and did not question the Furies until Ares tricked Kratos into killing his family. Armed with this knowledge, Kratos took a ship to Delos. Kratos arrived at the island of Delos and traverses the giant, ruined statue of Apollo. He is attacked by all three Furies and manages to cut off Megaera's arm, but Alecto uses her power to capture Kratos. Orkos appears and frees Kratos, taking him elsewhere upon the statue, with Alecto vowing that he will never succeed. After a perilous journey, Kratos uses the Amulet of Uroborus to fully restore the statue and retrieves the Eyes from the Lantern. But after completing the Trials of Archimedes, he is ambushed by the Furies, who take him captive and steal the Eyes and the Amulet. For two weeks, the Furies tortured Kratos in the Prison of the Damned. Kratos freed himself when Megaera went too far with her torture, and he pursued her through the prison. She and Tisiphone attempted to misdirect him, as a building he enters is projected as a brothel. When he goes to sleep with a woman, he spots the ring on her finger and he realizes that this is an illusion and tackles Tisiphone. Megaera interferes, insisting that Kratos belongs to her. She then released insects into Aegaeon's hands and mouth, mutating them into insect-titan hybrids. After Kratos killed Megaera and Aegeaon, retrieving the Amulet of Uroboros, Tisiphone creates an illusion of him being honoured by the King of Sparta. Kratos sees through it and soon finds the Scribe of Hecatonchires, who reveals that Ares and the Furies planned to overthrow Zeus. The Scribe was the first to be imprisoned by the Furies. They were originally fair in their punishment, but became ruthless because of Ares. Making his way to Alecto's chamber, Kratos retrieved the Oath Stone from Tisiphone's pet bird, Daimon. But upon entering the chamber, the Furies project another illusion, this time of Kratos' home in Sparta. Kratos is nearly taken in by this, for he saw his wife and daughter again, grew close to sleeping with "Lysandra" but notices the ring on her finger. "Lysandra" is revealed to be Alecto, who tried to convince him that he could live in this illusion if he rejoined Ares; however, noticing the Eyes of Truth hanging on her hip, he refused, preferring truth to living a lie. Enraged, Alecto drops the illusion and decides to execute him if he would not serve. However, Kratos breaks free of her sludge trap and manages to snatch the Eyes from her, and she retrieved deeper into her sanctum before she realized they were gone. Tisiphone joined Alecto as Kratos advanced on the remaining Furies. They created an illusion of a massive whirlpool, with Alecto transforming into Caribdis the sea monster. Using the Eyes, Kratos broke through the Furies' illusions and forced Alecto back into her human form. As he advanced on the Fury Queen, Tisiphone dispatched Daimon but Kratos simply used the Eyes to destroy the bird. He proceed to physically at Tisiphone, as she shapeshifted between the forms of the King and Kratos himself, belittling him. As he wrapped his hands around her throat, Tisiphone transformed into Lysandra, making Kratos briefly cease his assault. Tisiphone then changed into the Village Oracle, telling him that his family was not there that night he killed them, before Kratos snapped her neck. With Alecto left for last, Kratos drew his blades. The Fury Queen coldly tells him that the truth would only bring him pain before he plunges his blades into her chest. With her last breath, Alecto spitefully promises that her death would change nothing. Kratos returned to his home in Sparta, where Orkos met him. Although praising Kratos' victory over the Furies, he reveals that he was remade the oath keeper once again, maintaining Kratos' bond with Ares. He begged Kratos to give him an honorable death, as it would free them both from the god, to which Kratos refused, proclaiming that no more innocent blood should be spilled. However, Orkos' continuing pleas ultimately forced Kratos' hand. After killing Orkos, Kratos experienced the first of many nightmares, previously masked by his bond to Ares: this was the price he had to pay for the truth. He also discovered his path to redemption through continual service to Olympus. Kratos proceeded to burn down his house, with the corpse of Orkos inside it. Service to the Gods For the next several years, Kratos served the Gods of Olympus in whatever tasks they required of him. During the fifth year of his atonement, he joined the army of Attica in their struggle against the invading Persian Army and the great beast they brought forth, the Basilisk. After a lengthy battle, Kratos killed both the Persian King and the Basilisk, and promptly demanded if they wished him to do more in his servitude. At that moment, the Ghost of Sparta saw the Sun plunge from the sky and vanish beyond the horizon, leaving the world in darkness. Sensing a plot at work, Kratos followed the last remnants of light on the horizon, eventually reaching the Temple of Helios and the city of Marathon. Upon consulting with Athena, Kratos realized that Helios, the God of the Sun, had been captured by an unknown force, allowing Morpheus, the God of Dreams, to put the other Olympians in a deep slumber. With the Gods of Olympus incapacitated, Kratos was tasked with finding and rescuing Helios before Morpheus could seize control of the land by covering Greece under his Black Fog. Fighting through Morpheus' minions, Kratos entered the temple of the Sun God, and after learning of the events that transpired, he was tasked by Eos, the sister of Helios, to awaken her brother's Fire Steeds, which would take Kratos to where their master was being held captive. After having awakened Helios' Steeds, Kratos was taken to the Underworld, where he saw Helios' glowing light in the distance, right before the Pillar of the World. Kratos fought his way through Hades' domain, acquired the mighty Gauntlet of Zeus, went down into Tartarus, and killed Charon, the ferryman of the dead. Kratos then discovered the Titan Atlas had somehow escaped Tartarus and captured Helios. Throughout his journey, Kratos was plagued by visions of his daughter, Calliope, and the song she played on the flute he once presented her. When Kratos reached the Pillar of the World and the Temple of Persephone that lay nearby, he had already forgotten his task, thinking only of reuniting with his daughter. He encountered Persephone, Hades' wife, who revealed he could be with his daughter again, if he gave away all of his powers to the Forsaken Tree. Desperate to see his daughter again, Kratos did, and thereupon entered the Elysium fields, where he met with his daughter and was seen happy for the first time since he became the Ghost of Sparta. Persephone, however, appeared before him, revealing that it was she who rescued Atlas and asked him to capture Helios. With his help, she devised a scheme to destroy the Pillar of the World, thus killing the Gods and all of mankind as well. She taunted Kratos with the knowledge that he may live with his daughter for a short period, but would ultimately see her die again, upon the completion of her plan. Kratos then forced himself to become the Ghost of Sparta again by killing the innocent souls of Elysium, and regaining his powers. Whilst giving pursuit to Persephone, he realized he would never have the chance to be with his daughter again, and, hearing her crying behind him, his hatred for the Gods he served grew even stronger still. Kratos succeeded in killing Persephone and chaining Atlas to the ground above the Pillar of the World, thus completing his task. Before he left the Underworld, Atlas asked Kratos if he truly believed the Gods would keep their promise. Kratos replied it was the only thing he could hope for now, since he had lost his welcome in Elysium. With the use of the Fire Steeds, Kratos then escaped the Underworld, but found himself too exhausted from the journey, and fell from the Chariot, to the ground below. He was saved by Athena and Helios, who stripped him of his powers and equipment, leaving him unconscious upon the cliffs of the Aegean Sea. The Final Task Ten years after beginning his atonement, Kratos was sent to kill the Hydra and bring peace to the Aegean Sea. Following his victory over the sea monster, Kratos received a chance to seek his revenge on the God of War, and rid himself of the terrible nightmares that haunted him. He was ordered by Athena to seek out Pandora's Box in order to help him destroy Ares. Kratos made his way through the war-ravaged city of Athens, killing countless minions of Ares and even the infamous Medusa, the Queen of the Gorgons. Following the Athenian Oracle's instructions, Kratos traversed the Desert of Lost Souls and found Pandora's Temple atop the back of the Titan Cronos, whom he summed with the Titan Horn. He climbed to the top, made his way through the temple, and retrieved Pandora's Box, being the first human ever to do so. Sensing Kratos had obtained the Box, Ares, still in Athens, hurled a large broken pillar towards Pandora's Temple, impaling Kratos on a wall. As Harpies took the Box back to Ares, Kratos died and was sent to the Underworld. When falling down towards the River Styx, Kratos grabbed hold of the Captain's leg, climbed onto a ledge, and kicked the Captain, whom he had killed, down below into the River Styx. Reaching the top again, Kratos managed to escape the clutches of Hades. Meeting up with the Gravedigger again, whom he had met earlier at the Oracle's Temple, he reacquired Pandora's Box from Ares and used it to grow tremendously in size, as well as receiving a substantial amount of power in order to battle Ares on even footing. After a vicious fight, Ares trapped Kratos in a void where demonic incarnations of himself attempted to kill phantom versions of his family. Kratos attempted to save them, but watched helplessly as Ares stripped him of the Blades of Chaos, and used them to kill his family again. Kratos, now distraught and vulnerable, nearly met his end at the hands of Ares, but took notice of the Blade of the Gods, proceeding to use it to finally destroy the God of War. Though his past had been forgiven, the Gods could not relieve him of his nightmares. His last bit of hope taken from him, Kratos attempted to commit suicide by jumping from a cliff. Athena had a different plan for the Spartan; she saved his life and offered him the empty throne of the God of War on Olympus. He accepted the offer, settling upon the fallen god's throne, and becoming the new God of War. As the God of War Kratos, shortly after becoming the new God of War, entered Tartarus once again in search for the Ambrosia, but to destroy it, for Disciples of Ares desired to use it to resurrect their dead God. Throughout his journey, Kratos received flashbacks about his first quest for the Ambrosia. As the new God of War marched through Tartarus, he encountered a giant arachnid who was sent to kill him. Kratos killed the spider and its children. After pulling his blades out from the beast, Athena spoke to him in an attempt to warn him about the new dangers on the path he took once before. Kratos then shrugged off her warnings, confident that nothing would stop him. Later, Kratos encountered Athena again, and was told by the goddess that it is now the dead he must fear. Kratos simply moved along, finding the bodies of the Spartans who had died in his earlier quest for the healing elixir. The Spartans then rose from the dead, ready to exact vengeance on Kratos for abandoning them, but Kratos killed them all. Upon entering the island once again, the island revealed itself to be a monstrous beast named Gyges, who vowed vengeance on Kratos after one hundred of his arms were burned off in the Spartan's battle against Helios' Champion. Kratos, however, revealed his intentions and incinerated Gyges with the Flames of Apollo, destroying the Tree of Life and all its Ambrosia. He then left the island, knowing that the disciples of Ares would hunt him down for destroying the last hope they had at reviving their fallen God. Later on, Kratos has a vision of his mother being held at the Temple of Poseidon in the City of Atlantis. He argues with Athena while en route to Poseidon's kingdom, only then to be attacked by Scylla. Shortly after Kratos sends the monster fleeing and has a vision of his childhood, training with his brother Deimos. He enters the temple and encounters his long presumed dead mother Callisto, who then tells him his father Zeus had taken her there and that Deimos is still alive; trapped and being tortured in the Domain of Death. Both shocked and angered, Kratos asks why she lied to him all those years ago and who his father was. Callisto tries to tell him but is transformed into a hideous beast, forcing Kratos to kill her. Enraged over the gods having taken yet another member of his family, Kratos embarked on a journey to save his brother. At one point, Kratos encountered the Titan Thera, imprisoned inside a volcano, who told him he would be incapable of leaving if he did not free her. After freeing her, Kratos obtained Thera's Bane, and left the volcano. Upon his descent, he impaled Scylla, who had been pursuing him relentlessly ever since his arrival. Before returning home, Kratos found himself under attack by Erinys, daughter to Thanatos. Upon Erinys' defeat, Kratos journeyed through Sparta, encountered and killed a Dissenter and the Piraeus Lion, and found the key to saving his brother in the Temple of Ares. The Spartan then returned to the sinking city of Atlantis, entered the Domain of Death, and continued onwards. Finally coming across Deimos, deep in the Temple of Thanatos, Kratos set Deimos free, only to be attacked by him, as Deimos blamed Kratos for not helping him when in dire need. Witnessing the battle from close by, Thanatos finally intervened, and snatched Deimos. Barely able to stand from the fight, Kratos followed Thanatos and Deimos to the Suicide Bluffs, and rescued Deimos from falling to his death. After being reunited, and having reconciled their differences, the Spartan brothers took arms, and joined forces against Thanatos. In a climactic battle, Thanatos took Deimos' life, only to have an enraged Kratos take his in return. Kratos then took the lifeless body of his brother to his grave. After putting Deimos in the grave, dug by the enigmatic Grave Digger, Kratos stated his brother was now free. He once again attempted to kill himself at the bluffs, but ultimately relented, asking himself what he had become. The Grave Digger, who had been close by, revealed he had become "Death, the Destroyer of Worlds", before vanishing. Athena then pleaded to Kratos to forgive her, and attempted to empower him to full Godhood, but saw her pleas ignored, as Kratos promised her the gods would pay for their actions. During the siege of an unknown city, while aiding the Spartans in his mortal form, he was attacked by Argos, Hera's pet. Before he could defeat the beast however, an unknown Assassin killed it in his stead, apparently trying to destroy his reputation on Olympus. Kratos pursued the Assassin, but saw his progress halted by the minions of Hades. The God of War did not surrender, and continued his relentless pursuit, only to be stopped by Ceryx, messenger of the Gods, who allowed the Assassin to escape. Ceryx, in the name of Zeus, ordered Kratos to sway pursuit. Providing no valid reason, Ceryx only managed to infuriate the God of War. Kratos killed the messenger on the spot, instantly realizing Zeus would not stand for this action. When Kratos decided to lead his Spartans to Rhodes, Athena, still concerned with Kratos, implored him not to continue the endless wars, as the other Gods grew weary of his brutal warfare. Kratos chose not to heed her warning, and instead plunged down to Earth, aiding his army in further destroying the city. Moments after, an eagle, who Kratos assumed to be Athena, robbed him of his immense size, shrinking him back down to mortal size. The eagle flew past the Colossus of Rhodes, which was then brought to life. Kratos fought a long and arduous battle with the giant, until Zeus offered help in the form of the Blade of Olympus, which the King-God himself used to end the Titan War. Infusing all of his powers and immortality into the blade, Kratos took down his foe. As he shouted at the heavens, the Colossus' falling hand crushed him. Severely wounded, and stripped of all his powers, Kratos knew his rescue lay with the Blade. Limping towards it, the eagle came soaring down, revealing itself to be Zeus in disguise. Zeus informs Kratos that he didn't want to suffer the same fate as Ares, demanding that Kratos serve him. However, when Kratos refused, Zeus attacked and killed him by driving the Blade into his abdomen. Changing His Fate After being killed by Zeus, Kratos was dragged down by the arms of the Underworld. The Titan Gaia, who had been watching him his entire life, saved Kratos, sealed his wound, and gave him the strength to escape death once again. Climbing out from the Underworld, and back into Rhodes, he then instructed the last surviving soldier to return to Sparta, in order to prepare for another battle. Kratos then took Pegasus, a gift from Gaia, and attempted to fly back to Olympus so he could exact his revenge, but discovered that he could no longer enter Olympus, as he was no longer a God. Instead, Gaia instructed Pegasus and Kratos to seek out the Sisters of Fate. She informed him the Sisters had the power to travel back in time, which he needed to use to reclaim the Blade of Olympus and take his revenge on Zeus. Kratos then first traveled to Typhon's lair, where he met with Prometheus, who pleaded him to release him from his torment in the Flames of Olympus. Kratos, having previously stolen Typhon's Bane from the Titan, used it to break Prometheus' last chain, sending him down into the flames, burning him alive, and finally releasing him. His ashes granted him the power of the Titans. Kratos safely arrived on the Island of Creation, where he met Theseus, who guarded the Steeds of Time. They fought to determine the best warrior of Greece; with Kratos emerging the victor, after having bashed Theseus' head against a door, and skewering him with his own spear. Kratos later defeated Perseus (who tried to save his beloved Andromeda), the Barbarian King (who escaped Hades' torment to change his fate), Euryale (who wished to change the fate of her sister), and Icarus (who had lost his sanity). After having defeated them all, he once again fell prey to the Underworld, where he once again met with Atlas. Intent on crushing the former God for his imprisonment, Atlas ultimately ceased his attempt when Kratos revealed he was now an enemy of Zeus, and sought to change his fate in order to destroy Zeus. After Atlas aided him back to the surface, he continued his journey into the Palace of Fates. There, unbeknownst to him, he encountered the remaining Spartan warrior, only this time shrouded in darkness. Not knowing they were facing, both warriors intended on reaching the Sisters themselves, therefore intent on killing the other. After a quick battle, the Last Spartan fell prey to Kratos' Blades. The Spartan warrior informed Kratos of the fact that Zeus had now destroyed Sparta, causing Kratos to be overtaken with anger, proceeding to shout to the Heavens. Blinded by anger, he was then attacked by the Kraken. Held firm in its grasp, Kratos then saw an astral projection of his wife, which was actually Gaia in disguise, encouraging him to go on or face eternal torment in Hades. Kratos was informed of the fact that the Titans wanted the Spartan to lead them into battle. Kratos, ultimately regaining his will to live, killed the Kraken, and continued his journey. Kratos then entered the Sisters' throne Room, met with Lahkesis, and was told the Fates decided upon the destinies of all, and how she had allowed him to come as far as he did. She then proclaimed it was not his destiny to kill Zeus, with Kratos declaring they no longer controlled his destiny, and engaged her in battle. Instantly, Lahkesis summoned her sister Atropos, who took Kratos back in time, to his battle with Ares, determined to destroy the Blade of the Gods, so his past and present self would cease to exist. Kratos managed to subdue her, and teleported themselves back to the present. Now fighting both Sisters, he managed to trap them in a mirror, and shattered it, trapping them in the past. Kratos then proceeded onto Clotho, who warned him not to go forward with his manipulation of fate. Kratos killed the obese Sister of Fate, took control of his own fate in the Loom Chamber, and went back in time. Arriving in the past, he took the Blade of Olympus out of a surprised Zeus' hands, pulling it out of his other self. Zeus and Kratos then fought on the Summit of Sacrifice. Kratos and Zeus engaged in a vicious battle, with Kratos fighting Zeus in his full Olympian size, as well as his normal mortal size. During the battle Zeus unleashed a powerful lightning storm, to which Kratos yielded defeat and surrendered. He then asked the King of Gods to release him from his torment, to which Zeus stated: "I will release you from your life, my son, but your torment is just beginning." Kratos then dodged the blow, pinned Zeus to a rock with his Blades, took the Blade of Olympus and drove it into Zeus' abdomen. Intending to kill Zeus in the same way Zeus killed Kratos in Rhodes, he was then stopped by Athena, who was determined to defend Olympus. As Zeus tried to flee, Kratos took another swing at him, only for Athena to take the blow. Her dying words revealed Zeus to be his father. Zeus, desiring only to break the cycle of the son killing the father, cared not for the well-being of Greece, only for his own position and life. Athena begged Kratos to stop his revenge, informing him that all of Olympus would unite against him. Kratos revealed that he would destroy all of the Gods, proceeding to travel back in time to the Titanomachy, bringing the Titans to the present to battle the Olympians for control. The Second Great War The Olympians immediately rushed to battle as Hermes sped down the very peaks of Olympus, Hercules sent out his troops down into the fray, Hades, in giant form, lunged off the Mountain and engaged several Titans, and Poseidon, shot down from Olympus like a torpedo, and struck a death blow through Epimetheus' chest, sending the Titan into a watery grave. The God of the Sea then manifested himself as a massive water being and spawned several Hippocampi to aid him in battle. With Poseidon as their greatest threat in battle, having already decimated numerous Titans, and now going after Gaia herself, Kratos engaged the God of the Sea and, drawing him into Gaia's grasp, managed to knock a weakened Poseidon out of his godly form, and onto a separate platform. The two berated each other briefly before Kratos walked up and battered the Lord of the Sea severely, finally gouging out his eyes and snapping his neck as he tossed him off into the ocean. With Poseidon's death, the seas cataclysmed and ocean levels rose significantly, causing a flood that engulfed the entire world, destroying almost all of mankind, save those on top of Olympia. After killing Poseidon, Gaia and Kratos reached Zeus' pavilion, where the king of the gods angrily anticipated Kratos' arrival and assaulted both with a mighty blast of lightning that blew a portion of Gaia's arm off, sending the two spiraling down Olympus. Having stabbed the Blade of Olympus to in Gaia's back to hold onto, Kratos was unable to hang on as Gaia fought to survive. Gaia shouted in pain, as she told him he was but a pawn, and was deemed expendable now that the Titans had reached Zeus. Embittered, Kratos tumbled into the underworld. Contemplating his life as he lurched through the River Styx and its caverns, he resolved to escape Hades yet again, and destroy Zeus once and for all. On his way to Hades' chamber, after being sucked of nearly all of his power by the dead souls of Styx, he met the ghost of Athena, who claimed to have reached a "higher existence", and was once again willing to help Kratos exact his revenge. With Kratos suspicious of this turn of events, Athena explained how she saw truths where she did not before. As a sign of faith, she transformed Kratos' ruined blades into the Blades of Exile, to help him survive the Underworld and the foes that awaited him. She then continued to define his quest, as she ordered him to find and extinguish the Flame of Olympus, in order to truly defeat Zeus. Kratos made his way through the Underworld, meeting lost souls, encountering The Judges, and visiting Hephaestus several times, gaining more and more information about the secrets of Olympus, his adopted daughter Pandora, who was the key to Pandora's Box, and Zeus, all along finding mysterious scrawls that he silently acknowledged to be from various people in his past. Finally, having entered Hades' Palace, and finding the coffin-wed body of Persephone that Hades had restored, he engaged the Lord of the Underworld in a dark cavern. Kratos and Hades proved evenly matched, until the bloodthirsty Spartan managed to rip off his helmet, stole his Claws, and stole Hades' own soul by absorbing it into the Claws. Hades, without a soul and now dead, caused all souls in the Underworld to go rampant. Escaping the Underworld through a Hyperion Gate, Kratos continued his journey up along Olympus where he met with Gaia and after telling her that she was "a means to an end" and dislodged her by cutting off her hand and falling down from Olympus once again. He defeated Helios by decapitating him, stabbed the Titan Perses in the eye, killed Hermes by slicing his legs off and took his boots, mercilessly pummeled his own half-brother Hercules to death with the Cestus, snapped Hera's neck after she insulted Pandora, encountered a radiant Aphrodite and her handmaidens in the goddess' chamber, killed Hephaestus and Cronos in the underworld, killed the Skorpius and after taking the Boreas Icestorm, rescued Pandora from the Labyrinth, neutralized the Three Judges and after breaking the Chain of Balance, he finally arrived at the Flame's chamber. Inside the Chamber, in the presence of Pandora, whom he had previously freed from the Labyrinth, he began to have second thoughts and refused to let Pandora sacrifice her life. In turn, she refused as well, stating she did not want to be treated as a child, and how she had to embrace her destiny, only to be interrupted and apprehended by Zeus himself. Kratos, demanding that Zeus let go of Pandora, saw Zeus retort he should not confuse Pandora with his own flesh and blood, but mused that he already had. He cited the destruction of Olympus as proof of Kratos' need for atonement for the murder of his family. Kratos snarled that he only saw what he had come to destroy. He then engaged in battle with his father, while Olympus crumbled around them. Pandora tried to run into the Flame, intent on pacifying it, as Kratos attempted to stop her. However, due to inadvertently prodding Zeus' pleads how Kratos should not "fail her like he did his family", Kratos then released Pandora, attacking Zeus in a fit of extreme rage, only to be stunned by the Flame's dissipation. Kratos then opened the Box once again, only to discover it was empty. Zeus then mocked him for "another stunning failure", and went outside to recover, while Kratos' fury boiled even further. Outside, father and son met again on the pavilion. But before either could claim victory, the platform suddenly shook rapidly, as a reawakened Gaia attempted to crush the pavilion between her hands. Seeing no other exit, Zeus and Kratos fled inside her chest, dueled near her Gaia's heart, and sucked the life out of it. A rejuvenated Kratos finally bested Zeus, impaling him on Gaia's heart with the Blade of Olympus, killing both his father and his great-grandmother in one blow. Awakening amidst cracked earth, Kratos found Zeus' body impaled on a rock and extracted the blade. But Zeus' spirit, consumed by some lasting hatred for his infidel son, attacked Kratos, draining him of his willpower and anger, instead filling him with fear, and a sense of loss, bringing him on the verge of death. Trapped inside his own mind, taunted by his haunting memories, and his father, Kratos was then aided by Pandora, whose spirit lived on, abolishing the various torments of his soul. Overcoming these hurtles with Hope, Kratos returned to the physical world and managed to free himself from Zeus' choking grip. He then attacked Zeus' spirit, forcing him back into his own body, temporarily resurrecting Zeus. Kratos then violently and relentlessly battered Zeus into a bloody pulp, ending Zeus' reign once and for all. Arriving to congratulate Kratos, Athena requested Kratos to turn over the power he claimed from Pandora's Box. Kratos replied Athena that there was nothing inside. Believing Pandora had died in vain, only to serve his need for vengeance, Kratos was suddenly struck with remorse over her death. Athena did not believe him however, as when the evils of the Titanomachy were first sealed into the box, she placed the most powerful weapon in the world with them, to counteract the evils. She demanded Kratos to return the power he had obtained, as it rightfully belonged to her. For now that the world was cleansed by chaos, she would rebuild it under her rule, using the power of hope. Athena quickly came to realize however, that when Kratos first opened the box to kill Ares, the evils infected the gods of Olympus, taking hold of them. As the evils took hold of the gods, the power of hope instead infused itself into Kratos. Buried beneath all the layers of guilt, anger, and the need for revenge, Hope was finally released when Kratos finally learned to forgive his past deeds, thus releasing its power. Asking Kratos again, he refused, instead impaling himself onto the Blade of Olympus, thereby releasing Hope into the mortal world, for humanity to embrace. An action that Athena would clearly despise, as she removed the Blade from his chest, uttering the world was not ready to harness this vast power, and how Kratos had disappointed her. Athena then left, leaving a laughing Kratos to die, his vengeance finally complete. In a post-credits scene, the eagle-engraved mural where Kratos' body lay was empty, and a trail of blood is shown leading to the sea that now consumed the world, leaving Kratos' final fate currently unknown. 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